


SNOW: Initiation

by Jevil_Joss



Series: SNOW [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: AU--Canon Divergence, Collaborative Work, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Some angst and fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 17,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22804102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jevil_Joss/pseuds/Jevil_Joss
Summary: Shiro Branwen heads to Beacon, his dreams of becoming the best Huntsman in the world lighting his path for him.
Relationships: Shiro Branwen/Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long/Naomi Fiona
Series: SNOW [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639390
Kudos: 2





	1. Ruby

**Author's Note:**

> Team SNOW is a team created by Rokuuchiha. The characters were created by him. I just did the busy-work of writing the fic, and a few changes to plot line that I saw necessary. Please, enjoy the read!

"If it were at all up to me," the Huntress-- _she said her name was Glynda?--_ said, "we'd send you home...with a pat on the back..." Seeing Ruby's smile, she slapped her switch at the younger girl's hand, finishing with, "And a slap on the wrist!"

Ruby hastily pulled her hand back as Glynda continued. "But it isn't up to me, and you have someone who wants to talk to you."

Ruby instantly recognized the man who walked in. "Professor Ozpin?" she asked. 

With a smile, the Professor said simply, "Ah, my reputation precedes me." He set down a tray of cookies in front of Ruby, not comprehending the consequences of this action. She quickly began munching cookies as Ozpin sipped what appeared to be hot cocoa. Glynda held up her scroll, displaying camera footage of her fighting off the thugs. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Shinnle," Ruby said, mouth full. Swallowing, she repeated, "Signal."

"The teachers taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons on the planet?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"One teacher in particular," Ruby said with a fond smile. She began chewing on another cookie. 

"And I have a guess at who that might be," Ozpin said with his own fond smile. "I've only ever seen one other scythe wielder of that skill--a dusty old Crow."

"My Uncshle!" Ruby said, coughing on the cookie. "My Uncle Qrow," she repeated, coughing. She nodded in thanks as Glynda set a bottle of water on the counter for her. She gulped down a big sip, then continued. "I was garbage before he took me under his wing. Me and Shiro."

"Ah, his son," Ozpin said fondly. "Qrow taught the both of you?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, nodding. "Both of us wanted to learn, Shiro uses a sword, I used a scythe." She shrugged. "Uncle Qrow's weapon is both a sword _and_ a scythe. And both of us wanted to learn, so he taught both of us. What's the expression about birds of a feather?"

"Birds of a feather flock together," Ozpin said with a chuckle. 

"Yeah. That sums up me and my cousin."

"So it would seem," Ozpin said. He looked at something on his own scroll. "Yes, he and your sister have already enrolled at Beacon, haven't they?"

"Yup. I plan on going myself in two years."

Ozpin looked her in the eyes, then said with all seriousness, "Why wait?"

Ruby frowned. "I don't understand." She reached for another cookie, and was mortified to realize that none were left. 

"From the display I just saw, you're easily as skilled as your sister and your cousin," Ozpin stated. "In fact, you are a bit more skilled than most people who apply to Beacon. Your uncle taught you well."

"Um...thanks?"

"I happen to be a rule-follower, but I don't see any reason why we can't occasionally bend a rule or two." Ozpin sipped his cocoa. "You could attend Beacon Academy early, Ruby. I'd allow you to attend Beacon early, without even going through the entrance exam."

"Uh--"

"If it helps," Ozpin said, a hint of humor in his eyes, "I'll consider your attacking that orange-haired person as your entrance exam."

Ruby considered it. But there was really only one choice. 

"Okay."


	2. Shiro

"Oh my _gods!"_

"Ack! Yang, let go--"

"You're so cool!"

"Yaaang!"

"Oh, I could just hug you to death right now!"

"Yang! Please don't kill me before we get to the school!"

Yang Xiao Long, tall, blonde-haired, finally relented and put her half-sister down. "Sorry, I'm just so excited! I get to go to school with my favorite sister!"

"I'm your only sister!"

"Like, seriously! Getting let into Beacon Academy two whole-ass years early? By taking on a terrorist?"

"Not like I knew he was a terrorist at the time..."

"You really shouldn't be complaining," Shiro decided to put in. He ran a gloved hand through his white hair. He wasn't quite as tall as his cousin, Yang, but he wasn't short, either. He wore a white-and red jacket with a black undershirt. The shoulders were a deep red, and his gloves were fingerless. He wore a buckled belt, and knee-high red boots with gray lines running up to the tops. Patting the large sword at his side, he told Ruby, "Combat doesn't come naturally to everyone, you know."

Ruby sighed, turning away from her sister and her cousin. "It's not that I'm ungrateful...it's just...I kinda wanted to go to school normally."

"Normally?" Shiro raised an eyebrow, folding his hands over his chest. 

"No one's normal at these kind of places, Sis," Yang chuckled, mimicking Shiro's posture. 

"As normal as you can get, then!" Ruby cried, throwing her hands into the air. "Liiike...her! See her? The fox girl? She looks normal!"

The girl at whom she pointed was a faunus, with two reddish-brown fox ears sticking out of her gray hair. She wore a black and blue jacket, with a matching striped skirt, and a regular black jacket. She chatted to someone on her scroll, held up to her ear for a private call. She appeared agitated. Which was when Shiro saw the large, red and white tail flicking behind her. 

"She seems annoyed," Yang commented. 

"But she does look like the epitome of normal," Shiro was forced to agree. 

"Yeah! See?" Ruby folded her arms over her chest. "But now I'm two years younger than everyone else, the Professor placed me on a pedestal, and I'm actually shorter than everyone else, too!"

"She has a point," Shiro said. Not something he said too commonly, and not because Ruby seldom won arguments. He'd gotten into a fair number of fights with his cousins, and was often jealous of their normally superior fighting skill--despite having the same teacher, he grimly thought as he looked at Ruby. 

He rarely thought of his father. Qrow had not raised him--Taiyang had. Qrow had been 'too grief stricken', according to Taiyang. Which was one of the few places where Shiro disagreed with Tai. 

"~He-llo-o! Vale police to Shir-o!" He snapped out of his reverie, turning to face Yang and Ruby. "What?" he said. 

Ruby was the one to answer. "You had that--" Here she gave a poor rendition of his own dry voice. "--'I'm thinking broody thoughts about father' look on your face."

He grimaced. "That obvious, eh?"

"I'm sure you'll be just as strong as the two of us are once you unlock your Semblance," Yang said, patting him on the arm. 

"I'm sure it'll be every bit as good as mine, if not better!" Ruby said, giving him a thumbs up. "Yeah. Mine only really lets me run fast."

Shiro sighed. He turned away, almost running right into the fox faunus. She gave him an apologetic smile, then walked past him, saying to whoever was on the other side of the phone, "I can do this! I don't need any help! I'm _ready!_ "

"She really looks agitated," Yang said. "I'm gonna go see if she's okay." Yang left. 

"And so it begins," Shiro chuckled, watching her leave. 

"We'll see if she asks her out," Ruby chuckled. 

"And do you have any plans for romance?" Shiro asked, with an amused raise of his eyebrow. 

"None at all," Ruby said. "I've never been into guys _or_ girls."

Shiro shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll eventually settle down with a nice girl--or at least I plan too."

"Hopefully a girl, so I can be an aunt!" Ruby bubbled excitedly. 

Shiro's response was cut off as a blonde man rushed past him and began vomiting in a trash can. A woman--presumably the other blonde's sister, by the similarities in appearance--rushed over, talking fast. 

Shiro laughed. "Looks like air travel's not for everyone."


	3. Yang

Yang managed to meet up with the faunus girl as she left the Airbus. "Hey. You looked pretty agitated. It's probably none of my business, but do you need anything?"

"I can't believe him!" the faunus growled, stomping on across the sidewalk. Yang rushed to keep up with her. "After all I've trained, all I've done, he doesn't even trust me to do this one simple thing! He says, 'I believe in you'. He says, 'you can do it'. But I can hear in his tone that he doesn't trust me to be able to do it!" She fumed a minute more, than turned to Yang with a blush. "Um...sorry. I'm Naomi."

"Yang Xiao Long. Please to meet you." Naomi shook Yang's outstretched hand, then said, "So he might just be worried about you."

"He is." Naomi's shoulders drooped, ears flattening, tail straight. _Adorable!_ Yang thought. "I know he's just doing his older sibling-thing, but still. It gets annoying fast."

"Ruby's said as much to me once or twice," Yang agreed. "But your brother sounds like the kind of guy you'd like to have as a brother."

"Yeah." Naomi looked Yang up and down. "If I'm to be honest, he's just as surprised as I am to be here. Like, I never thought I'd go to Beacon Academy like this..."

"Really?" Yang folded her hands behind her head. "Ruby and I have been wanting to come here since we were kids. Shiro, too, though I think his reasons are different than both of ours."

"Shiro?" Naomi considered. "Is he the white-haired guy you were with?"

"Yeah. And Ruby was the one in red."

She frowned. "I thought she was your younger sister."

"She is. Professor Ozpin bumped her up two years cause she's that good."

"Is she now?"

"Not to brag, but I have the best little sister in the world!" Yang said proudly. When Naomi didn't answer, she said, "What? You wanna argue with me on it?"

"Eh? Oh, I don't have a little sister. I'm an only child."

Yang stopped. "Wait, weren't you just talking about your brother?"

Naomi stopped in her tracks, tail flicking in a way that was vaguely apprehensive. "Um...I was adopted. I never knew my parents. They died when I was a baby."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything."

After another moment of walking, Yang said, "I didn't know my mom either."

Naomi turned to her, a look of confusion on her face. Yang continued. "I met Ruby's mom, but my mom ran off when I was a year old. If Uncle Qrow or dad knew why, they never said." Yang shrugged. 

"Why are you telling me this?" Naomi asked. 

"Cause now I feel as if I forced you to tell me something personal," Yang said with another of her signature shrugs. "So I had to tell you something personal. Thaaat's the rules."

"I...you didn't need to do that..." 

Yang punched the other girl's shoulder. "Hey. It's fine. We're both fine."

Naomi rubbed her shoulder. "Ow."

"I didn't punch you _that_ hard."

"Playful punches should not require Aura to block," Naomi said with a practiced air. 

Yang laughed. "So, where were we going?"

"I was following you."

"Ha ha. You're real funny, you know that?"

"...that wasn't a joke. You will know when I am joking, Miss Xiao Long."


	4. Ruby

Ruby's first few steps involved her slamming headfirst into someone carrying a large suitcase. She fell to the ground, several vials of Dust scattering the ground around her. 

"Watch where you're going, you dolt!" a high-pitched voice cried. "Do you know how dangerous this stuff is?" 

"Um..." Ruby rubbed her head, looking up at the woman in the white dress with folded arms. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Look, I'm sorry, but there's no need to be rude," Ruby snapped, jumping to her feet and dusting herself off. 

"There's no need to be putting us all at risk!" she continued, shaking one of the vials at her. A fine reddish powder filled the air, and filling Ruby with the immense desire to sneeze. "Your carelessness could have gotten someone seriously hurt! Holding up your Aura for a long time takes immense concentration, and a blast of Dust could hurt someone very badly!" She continued shaking the vial, as if determined to prove herself right. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"A- _choo."_

The reaction was immediate. The air around the two girls lit up with a brilliant red flame, which quickly dispersed. Ruby gasped, choking and coughing, as the girl in white stared with wide eyes. 

"Is that unrefined Dust?" Shiro asked casually, rubbing his head. "Cause the stuff that's generally sold on market shelves isn't that volatile."

"Ow," Ruby croaked, rubbing her throat. 

The girl in the white dress glared at the two of them, covered in a black soot. "This is entirely your fault, you know."

"Hey, you were the one shaking the explosives, Ice Queen," Shiro drawled, losing his patience. _He's been rather short-tempered today,_ Ruby thought. 

"I--uh--hey!" The Ice-Queen spun her steely glare on him. "Do you _know_ who I _am?"_

"Weiss Schnee," a new voice cut in. Three gazes turned to a woman in a black-and white coat with a cute bow atop her head. "The heiress to one of the most successful Dust-mining companies on Remnant."

The Ice-Queen smiled smugly, folding her arms over her chest. 

"And the company is more infamously known for shady partners and questionable ethical practices," the stranger added, giving the Ice Queen a steely glare of her own as she folded her own arms. 

"Uh--hey!"

"Do you have any other responses to being wrong besides, 'hey'?" Shiro asked, stepping up to the girl in black. "If not, then you should have stayed in Atlas with the rest of the trash!" He held up a hand for a fist-bump, but the other girl said, "Returning hatred with hatred will accomplish nothing."

The Ice-Queen stomped off, heels clicking against the cobbled ground. 

"Thanks for the save, you two," Ruby said, running a hand through her hair. 

Shiro turned to the other girl. "Long time no see, Belladonna," he grinned. 

To Ruby's even greater surprise, the "Belladonna" girl smiled back, saying, "Is there an Ursa nearby that I should be aware of?"

Shiro gave her a flat look. "I had that."

"Just like you 'had' Miss Schnee," Belladonna said, leaning back as she smiled at Shiro. 

"What?" Ruby's jaw dropped. "Shiro, you have _friends?"_

"Ouch," Shiro said. 

"Singular," Belladonna corrected. " _Friend._ It's just me."

"I was friends with your boyfriend," Shiro said pointedly. "So, _ha._ "

Belladonna stiffened. Shiro sensed the change in her posture, and a frown crossed his face. 

"Shiro, who is this?" Ruby interrupted. 

"Blake Belladonna," the girl answered. "And your name?"

"Ruby Rose, at your service!" Ruby gave a mock bow, nearly fell over, but managed to right herself and expertly make it look like part of the move. "Saved it," she muttered. Hopefully not loud enough for Blake to hear. 

Judging by the look on her face, she heard. 

"When did you two meet?" Ruby asked, quickly trying to change the subject. "I mean, you don't look like you're from Patch. Your skin tone's off for someone from Patch, and I feel sure I would have seen you."

"We met on the trip to Menagerie," Shiro said pointedly. 

Ruby stopped, then gasped. "The one you don't talk about? The one with Uncle Qrow? Are you finally going to tell us what happened?"

Now Shiro stiffened. "Fuck no," he said in his 'no arguments' tone. 

If Blake was surprised by the curse, she didn't show it. "That was...an eventful few days," she said instead. 

Ruby gasped again. "Can you tell me what happened?" To guarantee her success, she gave Blake her signature puppy-dog eyes. 

But, somehow, Blake was immune to the dog eyes. "That's Shiro's story to tell," she stated simply. "I'm going to head to the auditorium now." She turned and walked off, quickly followed by Shiro. 

"Wait! Don't leave me!" Ruby cried, immediately tripping on the dropped Dust vial. Thanks to the gods, it was empty, but she still landed hard on the ground with a sigh. 

Which was when a hand was lowered for her. She looked over at a man and a woman who were clearly siblings, both with blonde hair and almost the same style of dress. The guy stretched his hand out, a look of concern on his face. "You okay?"


	5. Jaune Arc

Jaune's mother had said on many occasions that strangers were friends you hadn't met yet. So Jaune was determined to meet some friends, and he would start with the red-hooded girl. 

She took his outstretched hand, pulling herself to her feet. "I'm fine. Just slipped, that's all."

"Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." 

"Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you, too."

"Silver eyes?" Willow asked. Willow was Jaune's twin sister, and her reassuring presence was always welcome. She stood a bit taller than he himself was, her hair blonde and eyes green. She wore her usual--knee-high black boots and blue jeans, coupled with a purple shirt and white breastplate. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, making room for the white, metal gloves she wore. She wore a simple belt around her waist, filled with more ammo cartridges, and a leather strap hung around her chest, holding up the large, metal shield she wore across her back. 

"Why is everyone suddenly staring at my eyeballs?" Ruby muttered, turning to Willow, who laughed. A light, jovial sound that Jaune never got tired of. "Sorry, it's just a rare genetic condition. We had an uncle with silver eyes, right, Jaune?"

"Before he disappeared," Jaune said. 

"Oh." For some reason, Ruby looked extra mortified at the comment. 

"I mean, we never knew him, we just heard about his disappearance," Jaune said. For some reason, the red hooded girl didn't appear consoled. 

"I mean, Mom was pretty upset, he was her brother," Willow bit her lip. "Uh...you can forget this conversation, if it bothers ya."

Ruby nodded. "Sorry to hear about that."

"It's fine, it's fine," Jaune said hurriedly, waving her off. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"Well, to Beacon then!" Willow said, thrusting one hand into the air and marching towards the school. Jaune and Ruby began following her, at a nice distance. 

"So, you were the guy that vomited on the Airbus, right?" Ruby said, apparently thinking the question okay. 

It wasn't. "Hey!" Jaune said, offended. 

"What? You did vomit, didn't you?"

"It's--you can't just--"

Ruby chuckled mercilessly. "But you did, Vomit Boy."

"Okay. You can't do that."

"Eh?"

"First and foremost, motion sickness is much more common than most people would believe."

"Oh, really?" She sounded disbelieving. 

"Second, you can't call me that."

"Well, I'm sorry if 'Vomit Boy' was the first thing that came to mind."

"You know my actual name, you know! It's Jaune! Jaune Arc! And what if I were to call you--" He paused for dramatic effect. "--Crater Face?"

"Point made," Ruby agreed. "Just call me Ruby, and I'll call you Jaune."

After another moment of silence, Ruby said, "So, this is my weapon." She pulled out compact box which expanded into a humongous scythe--the weapon actually being bigger than she was. 

"Holy crap, that thing is huge!" Jaune cried, taking a step back. 

"Yikes," Willow said. "It is a big-o."

"It's also a high-impact, long-range sniper rifle," Ruby said, patting it. 

"It's what?" Jaune asked. 

"It's also a gun," Ruby clarified. 

"Ah."

"So, what're you packin'?"

"Well, I've--uh--got this." Jaune sheepishly pulled out his sword and shield. 

"Cool! What's it do?"

Jaune blinked, then said, "It, uh, shrinks down so I can sheathe it when I'm tired of carrying it." To demonstrate, he turned the shield into a scabbard and sheathed the sword. 

"It still weighs the same," Willow pointed out, turning around and walking backwards. 

"I know," Jaune said with a sigh. 

Ruby laughed--a light sound, more musical than Willow's. "It's cool, Jaune. Gotta say, not many people have a respect for the traditionals."

Jaune perked up a that. 

"I've got my shield," Willow said, pulling it off her back. "It's also a cannon. I...don't use that too much, mostly for a few high speed bashes."

"Okay. But wait, what's your weapon?" Ruby blinked expectantly. 

Willow stopped, a wide grin on her face. "Don't have one."

"Gesundheit?"

Willow engaged her Semblance. A brilliant golden glow spread from her right hand, and she thrust a golden blade of light into the air. "Ta-da! Sword made of Aura!"

"Cool!" Ruby's eyes practically turned to hearts as she stared in awe at the sword. 

Willow grinned broadly at her, but then it faded. She lowered her hand, dismissing the sword as she looked at the area around them. "Um, where are we?"

Jaune looked around, then turned back to Willow. "Uh, Sis? That's a joke, right?"

"Eh-heh heh...right...um...no."


	6. Flashback: Willow

"Why do you train so hard?" Mother's voice rang out clear in the small forest behind the Arc's cottage. Willow stopped, Aura sword poised mid-air, in the middle of an intense workout. Sweat beaded her brow, and she had been regretting wearing her breastplate for the entire time. However, if she was to fight in it, she needed to learn to carry it. _Move fast._

And moving fast while wearing steel plate was something that required practice. 

"So I can fight Grimm?" Willow said, dismissing the Aura sword so she could focus on talking. Truth be told, she'd needed to stop at that point anyway. Pushing herself too hard wouldn't do any good, either, as Father had said. 

She turned to her mother, who leaned against the wooden wall in her casual dress. Willow took a seat on a wooden chair. Mother bit her lip. "Why do you need to fight Grimm, though? Aren't there plenty of Huntsmen and Huntresses to fight off the Grimm?"

"Um..." Willow considered the question. "I've never actually thought that much about it. Realistically, there probably isn't a reason for me specifically to become a Huntress. But then again..." She shrugged. "There probably isn't a reason for any specific person to become a Huntress. But if no one ever got up to do the job, then no one would be safe."

"True. I just feel..."

Willow cocked her head. "It's nothing," Mother said, looking away. 

"No, it looked like something," Willow stated. "What's wrong?"

"First Saphron moved away, now you and Jaune. I'm beginning to feel as if none of my kids are actually going to live within visiting distance."

Willow felt a pang of guilt. "Mom..."

"Like I said, it's nothing. If you and Jaune want to become Huntsmen, I'm not going to stop you."

Willow leapt up, strode over to her mother, then wrapped her in a hug. "I'll never stop coming home for visits, Mom," she said. "And I know Jaune's going to be coming home at least once for a visit. I will make sure of it."

Mother blinked in surprise, then smiled, hugging her daughter back. "Keep him safe. He's...never really showed aptitude for combat. I'm not sure how he managed to pass Beacon's entrance exam, but he did. He's in for a lot worse at the school. Your father's told me about his time at Beacon. The headmaster...was an interesting person."

Willow nodded. "I will."


	7. Shiro

"There you are," Shiro said, turning to face Ruby. "I was wondering when you'd show."

"I met two new friends, and they immediately got me lost," Ruby said, hands swinging down limply. "Did I miss anything important?"

"No," Blake said. "Professor Ozpin hasn't made his speech yet."

"Where's Yang?" Ruby asked. 

"Probably still chatting up that Faunus girl," Shiro said. "She looked like she was entering Flirt Mode."

"Excuse me," Yang said pointedly. She put one hand on her hip, giving Shiro a look. 

"There you are," Shiro said. 

"Um...right, I'm just gonna..." The Faunus stepped around Yang, chuckling quietly. "Yeah, I'm gonna go now." She zipped off. 

"Have a nice day!" Ruby called after her. 

"Who was that?" Blake asked curiously. 

"Her name's Naomi," Yang said. "And for the record, who the fuck are you?"

"This is Blake," Shiro said. "Blake, this is my cousin Yang." 

"Nice to meet you," Blake said with a nod. 

"Hey, look, it's Professor Ozpin!" Ruby said, pointing up to the podium. Professor Ozpin straightened his glasses, tapped the microphone, and then started speaking. 

"So...I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge...to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose. Direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge will only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Deftly, he turned and walked off, leaving Glynda Goodwitch to finish up for him. 

"You're all going to sleep the first night in a dorm," she said. "Tomorrow shall be your first bit of work. I suggest you get well rested."

"Well, things are going to be interesting," Yang said. 

"Interesting after you abandoned us with your girlfriend-to-be," Ruby muttered, folding her arms over her chest. 

"Excuse me! I have no plans for flirting with her! I don't even know if she's a lesbian," Yang countered. "Also, abandoned?"

"Yeah! You abandoned me, and then I frikkin' exploded!"

"Meltdown already?" Yang asked, sounding surprised. 

"Uh, no, she's being literal," Shiro said. "She _actually_ exploded."

"And unfortunately, I can verify." Shiro turned to find the Ice Queen standing there, hands over her chest, glaring at the group. 

"Ack! It's her!" Ruby cried, jumping up and clinging to Yang, throwing her arms around her half-sister's shoulders. 

Shiro chuckled. The Ice Queen, unfortunately, was unamused. "What are you even doing here?" she demanded. "You're clearly several years younger than your sister. Who even let you in?"

"My sister's just that good," Yang said with a shrug. The shrug shook Ruby off, and she landed hard on the floor, making Yang wince. "The professor saw her fight off a gods' damned terrorist, and decided she was ready."

"Professor Ozpin?" the Ice Queen asked, sounding shocked. When Ruby nodded, rising to her feet, she added, "I can't possibly know how he thought this was okay."

Ruby spluttered, clearly searching for a response. "Hey, back off, Ice Queen," Shiro snapped. 

She shot him a frigid glare. "That isn't my name," she snapped. 

Before Shiro could respond, Blake intervened. "I'm certain we all have better things to be doing with our time," she said. "Miss Schnee, the simple fact of the matter is, the Professor decided she was ready for this." She put a protective hand on Ruby's shoulder. Yang looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't. 

"I mean, I intended to wait until I was eighteen, but--" Ruby shrugged. "I couldn't really turn this down, in any case. Like, why wait?"

The Ice Queen looked like she had several problems with that, but Shiro put in, "Look, in any case, you'll have to wait until the work Miss Goodwitch mentioned to see if she's as good as Professor Ozpin thinks. Right, Ic--ahem. Weiss."

Weiss gave him a glare. Shiro met eyes with her for a full minute before she sniffed haughtily, turned on her heel, and walked away. 

"Well, that could have gone worse," Ruby muttered. 

"Could have gone better, too," Yang muttered. "Who was that?"

"Am I the only one who knows who Weiss Schnee is?" Blake asked. 

Shiro laughed. "Just you and me, Blakey. You and me."


	8. Ruby

Ruby lay down on her sleeping bag, looking around the room. 

"Well," Shiro said from the mat beside her, "might as well get some rest."

"Agreed," Blake said, despite the fact that her face was buried in a book. "We don't know what this 'work' entails."

"Probably something Huntsman related," Yang guessed. She surveyed the other people in the room, smiling. "Man, Dad would not approve of this."

Blake frowned, looking up. "What do you mean?"

"Dozens of people in pajamas in a single room?" Yang chuckled. "Shirtless guys? Man, he'd have a heart attack."

"First, he's not that old," Ruby said, in defense of her father, "second, ew."

Blake frowned. "Are you just gonna sit here staring at shirtless men?"

Yang shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Amber-Eyes. It ain't the guys I'm staring at."

Blake looked confused for a brief second before Yang winked at her. Blushing furiously, she returned to her book. 

"Last I checked, she had a boyfriend, Yang," Shiro said, punching his cousin's shoulder. "Better luck trying Naomi."

"You think she'd be interested?" Yang asked seriously. 

"I mean," Shiro pointed across the room. "At the very least, she looks like she could use a friend right now." Ruby followed his gaze to where Naomi sat, alone, on her mat. Her nose was buried in a book. 

"Maybe she just likes reading?" Blake suggested. As Shiro and Yang continued talking, Ruby reached over and poked Blake's arm to get her attention. Blake hissed through her teeth, glaring at Ruby. "What?" she said snappily. 

Making sure Yang and Shiro were still absorbed in their conversation, Ruby asked, "Are you okay?"

Blake frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Cuz twice now this mysterious boyfriend has been brought up, and both times you've gotten tense," Ruby pointed out. 

"It's fine," Blake said. "We just...had a bad breakup."

Ruby scooted closer, leaning back on her elbows. "Yang's dated someone once before, and they eventually broke up. She...said she was fine, but seemed down for a while afterwards." Ruby considered what to say next. "Hey. If you ever need help, just...give me a call, kay?"

Blake stared at her a minute, then chuckled, closed her eyes, and shook her head. A smile was on her lips. "Ruby Rose, you are something else."

Ruby smiled at her. "I just remember Yang being depressed," she said truthfully. Yang hadn't talked to her about it--or anyone, really, despite their father's numerous attempts. Eventually, Qrow had grabbed him, said something to him in private, and Taiyang had let the matter drop. 

Ruby hadn't asked, but somehow, she knew Qrow had said something about Crane. His wife, Shiro's mother. 

Ruby sighed, looking away. Blake looked like she was curious, perhaps wanting to ask about Ruby's sudden change in demeanor. But instead, both heard Weiss Schnee stomping over and snapping, "People are trying to sleep! Will you two quiet down?"

Then she looked at Ruby, and both the Ice Queen and Ruby said, "Not you again!" at the same time. 

"And here we go," Shiro muttered under his breath. 

"She's right, guys," Ruby said to Yang and Shiro. 

"Oh, so now you're on my side," Weiss snapped, folding her arms over her chest. 

"Whaddya mean? I've never been against you!"

Blake appeared to know exactly where this was going, and went ahead and snuffed out the candle she was using to read. 


	9. Ren

Lie Ren blinked his bleary eyes open, seeing a familiar face that had been with him for years and he wished would be with him for quite a bit more time. 

However, he really did like sleeping in. "Wake up, lazy bud!" Nora Valkyrie cried. As Ren slowly sat up, she danced in circles around his sleeping mat, singing, "It's morning!" repeatedly as he sighed. As Ren began moving on to the daily task of brushing his teeth, she continued, saying, "I cannot believe we've been at Beacon for a full 24-hours! Not that i thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm, well, me! But it's just crazy, you know?" Done brushing his teeth, Ren moved on to fixing the bedroll, rolling it up into a single, pillow-like object. He gave the strings several more or less determined tugs. "We've been friends for soooooo long, what are the odds that we're still together? I mean, not 'together' together. Not that I'm not saying you're not handsome!" _When did you say that? And, what? "_ You are handsome--" _Yessss._ "--but that'd just be weird...right?" _I admit, it would be a little weird._ She shoved a pancake into her mouth. Ren had, on autopilot, finished with his bedroll and moved into the cafeteria, which was humbly decorated and served no more pancakes after Nora had had her fill. Ren, meanwhile, gave himself a slightly more moderated amount and slowly cut through it with a knife and fork. "Right. What was I thinking?" _Not the first one to ask that._ "But still, I hope we end up on the same team together." _Me too,_ Ren thought as she slurped a whole pancake into her mouth. "Ooh! We should come up with some sort of plan! To make sure we end up on the same team together!" Nora was ridiculous enough that it often surprised Ren when she was actually practical. "What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work work, he has the school."

Having moved on to getting his weapons out of a newly granted school locker, Ren thought, _Besides, it's not like we have money for bribes._ The somewhat ridiculous amount of Lien they'd managed to get their hands on had only carried them this far--after Beacon, money would be pretty tight. 

"I know!" Nora cried exuberantly. "We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" _Distress signal?_ She gasped. "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?" She pointed a finger in his face. 

"Nora," he said with a sigh. 

"Yes Ren?" she said, suddenly on his other side. How she managed to move so quickly, he would never know, and asking her about it had never managed to be successful. 

He slipped his weapons, a pair of dual SMGs/extra long and pointy knives, into his sleeves. "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

"I mean, I've never heard one," an unfamiliar voice said from behind Nora. One of the other students-to-be looked out of her own locker, slipping a pen into a hook on her belt. "But I thought they made, like, a 'grrrrrrrrah!' noise." She thrust one hand into the air, as if trying to become an exclamation mark. 

"I mean, I've never seen one either," Nora said. "I'm Nora, BTW--" _Who actually says that?_ "--and this is Ren! I always thought sloths made, you know, this sort of, long, low...like a deep rumble...a 'br-er-erroo!'"

The new girl laughed. "Th'name's Olivia," she said, covering her mouth with one hand. Her neat blue hair was slid onto one side of her face, and she had brown eyes and Atlesian skin tones. She wore a black leather jacket over a pink tank top, with a pink belt and shoes, and a black skirt and knee-high socks. 

"Nice to meet you," Ren said, stepping around her. To the side, he noticed a red-headed woman talking with a white haired woman and two blondes, one boy and one girl. The two were clearly siblings, and both appeared to be flirting with the annoyed looking white haired girl, whom, Ren noted, also looked Atlesian. "Do you know her?" Nora asked, elbowing Olivia. 

"That is...Weiss Schnee. She's a friend of mine," Olivia replied with a wave of her hand. "And the redhead is Pyrrha Nikos. Never met her, but Weiss and I have watched her tournament matches. Like, a lot." Olivia frowned, biting her lip. "Yeah, she watches those videos a lot. It's...kinda creepy. Oh! She's doing her psycho laugh now..."

"Oh, boy," Ren said as the metallic _clang_ of the male blonde hitting a wall, pinned with a spear by his shirt, rang through the room. Weiss passed, heels clicking on the ground, and Pyrrha took the spear as she passed, saying something that Ren didn't catch. The blonde's twin(presumably) stepped over, helping him up as two of their friends passed. 

"Come on now," Ren said, leading Nora by the hand. "We've gotta go out now, or we'll be late." _As for what we'd be running late too...we shall have to see._

"For years you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin said in his typical slow manner, standing on the edge of the Beacon Cliff, with a row of students in front of him, each one on a gray platform, and on his side, Glynda Goodwitch, holding a mechanical clipboard. Ren looked to his left, at Nora, and to his right, at Olivia. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams," Glynda said, looking along the line. _More than a few rumors,_ Ren thought, thinking back to Nora's talk. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

_What?_

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin picked up. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Ren heard a somewhat scared noise coming from a girl in a red hood down the line. 

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years," Ozpin finished. 

_WHAT?_

"WHAT?" the red hooded girl cried. 

"See? I told you," Nora said, patting Ren's shoulder. Olivia shrugged. 

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest," Ozpin continued, ignoring the chatter. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Nora split into a wide grin beside Ren. "You will be monitored and graded throughout your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of your path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and them make its way back to the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Any questions?"

"Yeah, um--"

Ozpin spoke over the blonde guy, continuing. "Good! Now, take your positions."

Ren, along with everyone else in the line, entered a proper stance for the test. 

"You said landing, right?" a fox Faunus asked. "Um, what exactly do you mean by that? Are we going to drive down on an Airbus?"

At the end of the line, Weiss Schnee was catapulted into the forest below. 

"Does that answer your question?" Ozpin asked dryly, sipping what appeared to be cocoa.

"Yes, but--were parachutes handed out?"

"No." The next student was launched. 

"What the hell?" the Faunus burst out. "What do you mean? Like, seriously? Just launching kids off cliffs? Why? What purpose does it serve? Moreover, why has no one sued you yet."

"I'm operating under the assumption that anyone who passed the entrance exam can make a safe landing," Ozpin said. "Having been given the information already, I expect you to be able to do this. And of course, if one somehow manged to cheat their way into the school..." Ozpin took another sip of his cocoa. "...she or he would be in deep trouble."

"You can't just--" The Faunus herself was catapulted into the air, sailing off the cliff in an arc with a long cry of, " _Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"_

Right before he himself was flung, Ren heard Ozpin say, "She has spirit."


	10. Shiro and Olivia

Everywhere around Shiro, students used their Semblances to get to the ground safely. He saw Ruby bounce off a tree, a flurry of rose petals around her as she moved. Blake created a clone of herself, using it to slow her descent enough to slide down a tree. And Weiss Schnee landed on a white glyph, slid off onto another one, and continued until she out of Shiro's sight. 

Shiro hadn't unlocked his Semblance, though. So he was left to the fundamentals. 

He pulled out his sword--it was moderately sized, with a red handle. The ammo cartridge was built horizontally into the handle, with several different kinds of Dust ready for use. Shiro stabbed it into a passing tree, hooking himself around it and activating the ice Dust. The ice grew around the tree, pulling Shiro to an abrupt stop. He pulled his sword free, then jumped down onto a lower branch, and made his way to the ground. He spun his sword around. A smile lit up his face. Didn't even need his Semblance.

Whatever it was. 

He began moving through the forest. He didn't mind the noise he made--branches snapped beneath his feet, and rocks skidded, hitting literally everything in their path. But the only things of note in the forest were Grimm and students. Grimm wouldn't need him to make noise to find him, and the students weren't going to attack him. 

"CANONBA--OH FUCK MOVE!"

Shiro jumped, ducking into a roll before an impact sent him flying. He skipped once across the ground before hitting a tree. The tree shook, and a small branch hit Shiro in the head. Shiro blinked, then shook himself, glaring up at the other student. She wore a white breastplate over a purple long-sleeved shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, with white gauntlets over her hands. She wore blue jeans and knee-high black boots. A leather strap was secured across her chest, and she had out a large shield out. She sat in a large crater, a sheepish, yet somehow confident, smile on her face. "Whoops," she said with a laugh. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Shiro stood up, rubbing his back. "You're...Ruby's friend, right?" What was her name again? 

"Willow Arc," she introduced, bringing herself to her feet with her shield. "And I guess we're a team now?"

Shiro shrugged. "Well, let's go find the temple-thing."

"Let's go!" Willow cried, immediately seizing the lead and moving past Shiro. Shiro blinked, then did a loud, fake cough. Willow turned around, and he pointed in the right direction. "And we're going this way!" she said, moving off in the direction he'd indicated. 

Olivia Iris laughed, landing on the top of a tree, balancing on one leg as she surveyed the surrounding area. Grinning broadly, she looked at the surrounding area. Who'd make a good partner? Ren or Nora? No, they wanted to be on each other's team, hunting them down would be rude. Who else did she know?

Weiss. She was friends with Weiss. They'd met and talked plenty! Whenever Ironwood had visited Jacques Schnee, he'd brought his adopted daughter with him. Ironwood and Jacques talked plenty, over various things in varying degrees of politeness, so Olivia had talked with Weiss a lot. 

Olivia spun, turning to look behind her. Maybe she could still find Weiss...

Her brown eyes locked with two burning, bright golden yellow ones. The eyes stared at her a minute. Olivia found herself unable to look away. _Just--those eyes._

She eventually looked at the rest of the person the eyes were attached too. A Faunus, with two reddish ears and a fuzzy fox tail. She had a black jacket, and a black and blue shirt underneath it. The stranger looked her up and down, a fierce light in her eyes. Then she smiled slyly and backflipped off the tree. 

"Wait!" Olivia cried. Her arms drooped as she muttered, "Partner?" Letting loose an exasperated sigh, she leaped down off the tree, hitting the ground and heading for the fox Faunus. 

"Hel-lo? Mysterious stranger?" A bush shook violently. "Is that you, mysterious stranger?" She pried the bush apart, and got face to face with two hating pools of red staring her down. 

"Hmm," Olivia said slowly. "I don't think that's her." She somersaulted over backwards as a claw swept through the place she'd been. A huge Ursa shoved its way through the underbrush. It was clearly old, and had a large amount of white plating on its back, with spines sticking back out. It slowly lumbered forward, looking left and right before its gaze settled on Olivia. 

"Looking for something else?" Olivia noted. No one else mentioned how smart the Grimm were. How they watched you. How they searched for things that got away from them. Olivia's eyes narrowed, and she pulled her pen out of her belt. Art's Rage extended into a one-handed sword, and she gave it a twirl. The golden edge flashed in the sunlight, complimenting the gray blade. 

She was, after all, an artist. She lunged forward, slashing and jabbing at the Ursa. The sword cut several marks into its shoulders, and it roared, swiping at her. She jumped, bounced lithely off its head, and landed on top of one of the spines on its back. As it tried to shake her off, she flipped, using her sword to aid her backflip off its back. Unfortunately, the blade didn't leave as much of a mark as she'd hoped. _Right, it's got that armor. Duh!_ Olivia hit the ground and slashed across one of the Ursa's back legs. Olivia slashed its shoulder as it turned back towards her, ducking back out of range of its teeth. It reared up, swiping at her and roaring. She grinned, then stabbed her sword through its stomach. She pulled it out, slashing up at the Ursa's face as she jumped into the air. Grabbing the hilt in two hands, she swung, decapitating the Grimm. She landed behind it, in a crouch and a photogenic pose. 

"Nailed it," she whispered. "Only wish someone were here to have seen that."

She heard it. A long, slow clap. Olivia rose and turned, seeing the Faunus from before, seated on the back of the disintegrating Ursa. The spines had been lightly shoved aside, giving the impression of a massive throne upon which she seated herself. 

Olivia wished that she'd brought her sketchbook with her. 

"Hello!" she said. "How'd you get there?"

"Quietly," the Faunus answered. "Naomi Fiona. Pleased to meet you."

"Olivia Iris."

Naomi jumped from the corpse just as it finished disintegrating from beneath her. "C'mon. We need to be moving, don't we?"

Olivia followed her, one thought going through her mind. _I do wish I'd manage to partner with Weiss, cuz we both know each other, but I'm glad I met this girl, at least._


	11. Willow and Naomi

Willow shoved her way through a large, thorny bush when she heard Shiro say, "You're lost, aren't you."

"Maybe a little," Willow said, her smile faltering for a second. "But I'm sure we'll get back on track soon!" 

"How?"

"Hmm...bird's eye view!" She pointed up a tree. "A giant, stone temple should be pretty easy to see!"

Shiro sighed, then strode over to the tree. 

"Eh? Ooh! Are you going to use some sort of flight Semblance to get up there? Are you secretly a Faunus? Do you have wings?"

"No, to all of those questions," Shiro snapped. Then he thought a minute. "Though I might be half-Faunus and just not know it yet."

"That's the spirit," Willow said, pumping a fist into the air. 

Shiro grabbed hold of a branch and began climbing. Willow watched, but her smile faded as she watched him climb. She jumped up, grabbing hold of a branch and summoning an Aura sword to use as an impromptu handhold. She launched herself up, grabbing hold of an extra-thick branch by where Shiro was. "Have you unlocked your Semblance yet?"

He blinked in surprise, looking back down to the ground. "How'd you get up here so fast?"

She held up the glowing yellow sword. "I used it to get up."

Shiro glared at the sword, then lunged up past her. 

Willow frowned. _Is he racing me?_ She jumped, throwing herself up past a branch before making the Aura sword curve. The curved scimitar cut into the bark above her as she used her Semblance to straighten the blade, slingshotting her up. She past Shiro, reached the top of the tree first, and stabbed the blade into the top, hanging off the top. Shiro reached the top a split-second later. 

"Something up?" she asked him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Whoops! Accidental pun. But seriously. Shiro, are you alright? You seem angry and bitter."

Shiro glared at her. "Not really any of your--there it is!" He pointed. Willow turned--but still made her mind to find out what was bothering Shiro later. She saw the temple immediately. She also saw the giant Nevermore flying right for them. With a cry, she leaped out of the tree, grabbing Shiro as she fell. He stabbed his sword into the tree, and the friction of the blade against the tree slowed their descent so they managed to land on the ground with an air of poise. 

The tree split in half down the middle, each half crashing down on opposite sides of the group. The Nevermore screeched in the air above their heads, flying away, towards something else. 

"Why isn't it attacking?" Shiro asked. 

Willow bit her lip. "Then it must have been attracted to stronger emotions," she said. She began following it. "C'mon! They might need help!"

Shiro put a hand on her shoulder. "Who?"

Impatiently, Willow shrugged off his hand. "Whoever it's going after. Come on."

"Willow, we have work to do."

"What?" She spun on him. "Isn't this our work?"

"Professor Ozpin is confident that they can take it," Shiro said. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't have sent everyone into the forest."

"But--"

"My father once said something," Shiro said. "He said that you need to know what your allies can take." He met her eyes, a fierce fire shining within. Willow drooped as he continued. "Professor Ozpin said to go to the temple and get the relics. Going and trying to 'rescue' our fellow students won't do anything. They can take it. But we need to go do our mission."

Willow sighed. "Fine." She punched his shoulder. 

"Ow," Shiro said, rubbing his arm. "What was that for?"

"Being right," she said. She started marching towards the temple, saying, "I really hope they can handle it."

"As long as they work well together and they're not idiots, they should be fine," Shiro said, moving after her. 

"Says you."

"How long have you been training for?"

"Pardon?" Willow summoned a sword of light, cutting through a particularly dense bush with ease.

"How long did you spend training for Beacon?" Shiro reiterated. 

"I've been training with my Semblance and shield for...almost five years now?" Willow stopped and looked back at Shiro. 

"Yeah, I thought so," Shiro stated. He had an slightly arrogant punch-me face at that moment. "Lot's of people have. Ruby and I have been training for almost seven years now. Since I was eleven. My father taught us." He paused, then said, "Ruby and I are ready for this. Yang is ready for this. Blake is ready for this." She didn't recognize any of those names, aside from Ruby. The girl had seemed chipper when she'd met her. 

"If I'm entirely honest," Willow interrupted, continuing to walk ahead, "I was hoping to end up on Jaune's team, so I could help protect him."

Shiro didn't reply, so she continued. "I mean, he hasn't been training like I have. I haven't ever seen him practice with that sword of his. I don't even know if he knows how to activate his Aura. And I never saw him at the entrance exam."

"Everyone took it separately."

"Yeah, but...like, I saw you there. I saw a lot of faces there that I can put to people I saw today. I saw Pyrrha, at a distance. I saw...the guy in armor, with brown hair."

"Don't know him."

"That young couple, the ginger girl and her friend in green."

"Hmm...saw them, but don't know them."

"What about the cat Faunus?" Willow asked experimentally, humor welling up inside her. 

"Blake? Yeah, we're fr--wait." Shiro stopped, so Willow did as well, turning to face him. "How'd you know she was a Faunus?"

"Um...she has a tail? The ears aren't exactly invisible, either," Willow added. 

"Blake doesn't have a tail," Shiro said, looking confused. "Or, at least, not one I've ever seen."

"Um...it looked pretty obvious to me."

Shiro thought a second, then said, "Black hair? Amber eyes? Black and white outfit?"

"Um...no. Gray hair, blue and black jacket. Skirt, too."

"That's Naomi. She's a _fox_ _._ A _fox,_ " he repeated for emphasis. 

"Oh!" Now that she thought about it, that tail didn't look like a cat tail. "So, wait. The monochrome girl's a Faunus?"

"Shit!" Shiro slapped his face. "You can't tell anyone! Please!"

Willow laughed. "Ha! Yeah, I won't. Pinkie promise." She extended a hand, her pinkie outstretched. Shiro stared at it, then shook his head. "Yeah, I ain't shaking that."

"Eh. Fair enough."

Naomi landed in a crouch, then jumped to her feet, shaking herself off. "Found the temple," she said. _Child's play._ Considering most of the people doing the initiation were still children at heart, that was probably what the headmaster had been aiming for. 

"So...I'm from Atlas." She looked to Olivia. The girl was standing there, shyly wrapping a strand of hair around one finger. She kicked idly at an imaginary rock on the ground, seeming to look everywhere but at Naomi. "Where...you from? You don't have the skin tone of the Valese."

"Mistral." It wasn't where she'd been raised, but it was where she'd been born, in any case. She'd lived eight years there before...

_"Tell me. Does he deserve mercy?"_

"Mistral, eh? Must have been cool."

Naomi hissed through her teeth, tail flicking in annoyance, then said, "I was raised north of here. I haven't been to Mistral since I was nine. And I don't plan on going back."

Olivia didn't say anything. Jumping onto a small rock, Naomi skipped along a row of large rocks, tail balanced out behind her. Biting her lip, she looked down to her side, where Olivia walked on the ground, looking depressed. 

"Sorry," Naomi said. "I just...my brother, Gaold...he says we shouldn't talk on missions. And, uh, his teaching stuck."

"Oh."

Naomi jumped off the last of the rocks in the suspiciously neat row( _maybe someone has a hobby?_ ), dust rising as she hit the ground. She put a hand on Olivia's shoulder, not knowing if it was appropriate to do so. "Hey. You're a nice girl."

"Um...thanks?" She paused. "Are you hitting on me?"

"Uh, no."

"Good, cuz I'm straight."

 _Dammit._ Naomi removed her hand. "I just thought...I'd done something to offend you. It was a peace offering." _Gaold's way better with words. Why can't I be more like him?_

"Well, peace offering accepted!" Olivia play-punched Naomi's shoulder. Naomi blinked a few times in surprise. "Ow."

"I'm sorry, did I--" Olivia tripped. Naomi caught her, pulling her back to her feet by her jacket. Olivia's eyes widened in surprise and shock, as she stood unsteadily on her feet. 

"Thanks," she mumbled, straightening her jacket around her neck. It appeared that Naomi's tug had dug the collar into Olivia's neck. Naomi winced, then looked down to see what Olivia had tripped on. 

It was a massive footprint. _Huge._ Almost two feet across, with claws. _Four toes._

She looked at the other footprints nearby. Half of them were similar to the one Olivia had tripped on, but the other half looked like... _goat hooves?_

"Shit," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. Her tail went straight, her eyes stiff and alert. "We got a big-ass Grimm nearby."


	12. Flashback: Olivia

Atlas air always smelled crisp and sharp. Olivia had no clue why. She sniffed, gagged a little at the smoke she inhaled, and then shivered. One never got used to the cold air, even if one was born and raised in Atlas. 

"Cold?" The General, James Ironwood, somehow always knew if Olivia was cold. Perhaps the shivers clued him in. 

"Always," she replied, one hand on her hip. "Hopefully, it'll be warmer in Vale."

"I've been to Vale. It is warmer," the General said with a sly smile. "Quite a bit."

"One of the many reasons why I want to go," she said, almost under her breath. The two sat in her room, on her bed. A TV sat in the corner, playing an action movie that Olivia had picked and then proceeded to ignore. A small portrait of her, the General, and the Schnee sisters, Winter and Weiss, sat on a wall. A picture taken during a happy time. 

"The other reasons?" James asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Olivia smiled sheepishly, turning to the latest page in her sketchbook to start drawing. Art's Rage sat in her hand, in pen form, and she idly began tracing an outline. "Well, Weiss was going to Beacon, and I wanted to go to the same school she went to. And..." She stopped, pen lifted just off the page. She knew that lifting the pen from the page would mess up the line she'd been drawing, but she was mostly just scratching the need to do something with her hands anyway. "Promise you won't laugh?"

James chuckled at that, but stopped when he saw Olivia's face. "Promise."

"You said...my Mom went to Beacon. My...birth mother." The pen continued scratching away at the paper. A smooth, but squared jawline came into focus on the page. "I mean, Winter works great as an adoptive big sis, even though she doesn't let me call her that--"

"Doesn't seem to stop you," James said, amused. 

"It does when she's in the room," Olivia told him. "And you've been the best adoptive dad I could have hoped for, but...ah. I just wanted to see my Mom's country, y'know? Train where she trained? Learn where she learned?"

"Yeah," James agreed. "Sounds..." He trailed off. Olivia didn't have any memories of her mother. But James had said they'd been friends. Close friends. Olivia's father had died with her mother, proving that even pro Huntresses could fall to simple Grimm. 

Mentioning them to James was generally a bad idea. "Sorry for bringing it up," she said, looking up at him, but he waved her off. "No, no. It's fine."

Olivia bit her lip, returning her attention to her drawing. James looked at it, then looked surprised. "Is that me?"

"I've drawn you plenty of times," Olivia said, frowning. 

"Yeah, but--why am I just a head?"

Without missing a beat, Olivia said, "Because hands are hard and fingers are weird."

James laughed. "Okay. I can live with that." He held out his flesh hand, wiggling the fingers. 

Olivia shuddered. "To many lines," she hissed. She jokingly shied back as he wiggled the fingers at her. Laughing, she returned to her drawing. "Lessee....there's your hair. There's that little spike of it over your forehead. And here's the implant thingamajigger."

He listened as she went on and on, detailing each part of his face as she drew it. He never seemed to mind her mentioning the cybernetics. She moved on to the collar of his shirt, then to his tie before she hit the bottom of the page. Out of room to draw any more of him, she held the picture up for viewing. "Not my finest work," she admitted. It was true. Olivia had done way better pictures than this one, but that hardly mattered. 

"It's really good," James countered. 

"Eh..." Olivia shrugged. "That's just your handsomeness overriding the bad."

James raised an eyebrow. "What? It's true!" Olivia laughed. "I'm...gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," James said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She leaned into him, smiling. 


	13. SNOW

"This..." Shiro looked at the large rock in front of them. "Isn't the temple."

Willow stepped over, examining it. "Hmm...maybe the other one was a false lead? A trick?"

"I think we got turned around and went in the wrong direction," Shiro said. 

Willow stepped over, jabbing a finger at his chest. "So, do you mean to tell me, that after you said, 'we're going the wrong way', and told me to go in another direction, you lead us to the wrong temple?"

"It's not a temple! It's a big rock." Shiro gave the rock a kick. He was surprised when he didn't kick rock, he kicked something that was...softer. He stepped back, examining the pitch black rock. There were multiple pale-white, jagged edges on it, and even a few spots of red looking at him...

Naomi looked up as she heard a sharp, piercing swear word echo through the woods. "Someone's having a bad time," she noted. 

"Language," Olivia chided under her breath. 

Naomi pushed past several branches, walking towards a large set of stone structures. "Here we are," she said. A grin split her face. "Damn, that was easy. Ozpin could have at least given me a challenge..." _At any of the steps...._

"Are those chess pieces?" Olivia asked, walking over. 

Naomi passed her, tapping several of the pedestals. "Only a couple have been taken," she said. "Looks like we were quick, eh?"

Olivia picked up a rook. "How 'bout this one?"

Naomi frowned. "I was kinda hoping for the white queen..." She picked up the piece, and gave it a little shake. 

"Fine by me," Olivia said with a shrug. She set the rook back in it's place. 

"There are two of each," Naomi said. "Are we supposed to grab two?"

_BOOM._

Both looked up to see something flying out of the trees. Willow was standing on top of her shield, holding on to Shiro with one hand, giving war whoops. They hit the ground, and the shield skidded across the ground a short distance before hitting a slightly taller rock. Willow and Shiro flung off it, rolling across the ground before hitting one of the pedestals, the shield slamming into her face seconds later. The pedestal shook, and the second queen piece shook and fell off, landing on top of Willow's head, bounced off, and clang on the shield. 

Naomi winced. Olivia winced. 

"I..." Willow groaned, "...got a Relic!" She triumphantly held up the queen in the air. 

"...fuck you," Shiro groaned, rising and rubbing his back. He ran a hand through his hair, then dusted it off. A large amount of grey stone dust fell off it, turning his hair back to white. 

"Ah, quit being so grumpy," Willow said. "We didn't even have to fight the Chimaera!"

"A Chimaera?" Olivia asked. 

"Ooh! People!" Willow was suddenly by Olivia, exuberantly shaking her hand with both her own. "Name's Willow! This is my teammate, Shiro! What're your names?"

"Naomi Fiona. This is Olivia." Naomi cracked a grin, then looked over at Shiro. "Shiro...Yang's cousin, right?"

"Nice to meet you," Shiro said, stretching. His back made an eerie popping sound, and he winced. 

"How hard did you hit?" Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Ask Cannon Ball over there," Shiro said, nodding to Willow. An echoing roar shook them out of conversation. Several trees were ripped apart as a Grimm burst into the clearing, charging forward. Its front half was thick and muscular. Its back legs were thinner and hoofed. Two leathery wings stretched out behind it, and a tail lashed around it, covered in white spines down to the end. A draconian head sat on a neck, with two scaled ears stretching back. Spines stuck facing backwards out of its head, and its mouth was full of two rows of huge fangs. It had three eyes, each glowing blood red as it roared again. 

"And it's back," Shiro said. 

"What's the plan?" Willow asked, hefting her shield and summoning an Aura sword. 

"We don't need to fight it," Naomi pointed out. "We can just go around it and head back to the cliff."

"Uh, rather hard to do with a Grimm on our tail," Shiro said. 

"But let's lead it away from the other students," Willow said. 

"This way," Shiro said, leading the way. Naomi and Olivia followed the other pair into a forest path. The Chimaera charged after them, roaring its bloodlust into the very earth itself. 

Shiro gritted his teeth as he lead the group into another ancient stone ruin. Words in a language he couldn't read lined the walls, most of it faded or scratched out. He ignored this, climbing up a set of stairs onto a raised dais. "How do we take this thing on?" he asked, looking around the room. 

"Chimaeras are fast and have lots of armor, but if you don't hit the armor or manage to break it, they're pretty squishy," Naomi said. When the other three looked at her, she blushed, saying, "I...read up on Grimm. A lot."

"Okay. Don't hit armor, be light on feet, don't die," Olivia said. She pulled out Art's Rage, turning it into a sword. She tossed it into the air, catching it. "Seems easy enough."

"Always does," Shiro said as the Chimaera burst into the building. Most of the walls had already crumbled, so it didn't need to burst through. It roared, looking around at the sides before focusing its gaze on the group of frightened children in front of it. 

"Um, heads up," Willow said. "I've never fought a Grimm this big before."

"I'm no stranger to combat," Shiro said. "But...biggest thing I've taken on was an Ursa."

"I took on an Ursa a half-hour ago," Olivia said incredulously. "This thing should be easy."

Naomi pulled out two weapons--a sleek, gray revolver and a sword with an ammo cartridge in its side and a gun barrel on the top. "Shall we dance?" she said in a bemused tone. 

Shiro lunged. He sailed through the air, slashing at the Chimaera. Its wings intercepted, and the sword bounced off. Shiro landed on his feet, then dodged the Grimm's swipe. Shiro struck the Chimaera's shoulder, scoring just below an armor plate, then jumped and rolled backwards, out of range as the Grimm reared and roared. He lifted the sword, which had a thick, red blood on it. "Squishy as hell," he called out as Willow and Olivia charged past him. Willow was faster, sidestepping the lunge of the Chimaera's teeth. Her sword slashed at its eyes, but glanced off the thick armor plating. It swung its head into her, knocking her backwards. She slid, holding her ground and blocking its teeth with her shield. She pulled a trigger, activating the cannon in the shield, using the recoil to propel it into the Grimm's jaw. A couple of teeth were knocked out, falling to the ground at her feet. The Chimaera stumbled a bit, shaking its head and roaring. Olivia landed on top of her head, holding her sword with both hands. She wobbled unsteadily as it tried shaking her off, then plunged the sword down into its head. The armor blocked it, however, and the sword didn't even pierce it. The Chimaera's tail slammed into her back, throwing her off in front of it as it lunged and pounced. 

Olivia looked stunned and surprised, but as she fell, she grinned. The Chimaera's shadow passed over her, its mouth open wide. As darkness descended, Olivia disappeared in a burst of black. Her body materialized in the shadow beneath a pillar behind the Chimaera. She was still in the same position, but rolled over as she fell through the air. She caught one of the Chimaera's wings as it screeched to a confused stop, then plunged her sword between two of the armor plates. Blood and black smoke splattered out across the ground as the Chimaera turned its head to look at her. A gunshot rang out, and one of the Chimaera's eyes exploded. Naomi aimed carefully, firing again. Her next bullet hit the Grimm's dark flesh, and a white glow appeared around the wound. She fired again, but the Chimaera moved aside, then charged forward. Naomi slid across the ground away from it, a white trail across the ground as she moved. She slashed its claw with her sword as it swung at her, ducking back away from the blow. She fired at its neck, hitting flesh once again. She somersaulted out of range as its tail lashed out at her. Olivia jumped over the Grimm's head, grabbing around Naomi and the two disappeared in a black burst. 

They reappeared in the shadow by a pillar. "Thank the gods there's so many shadows in this building," she muttered, falling to her ground. Her Aura flickered around her. "Oof."

Naomi holstered the revolver, grabbing her sword with both hands and wielding it like a combat rifle. She flicked a small switch, and opened fire. A spray of bullets hit the Chimaera, and each one coated it in white light. 

"What's up with your Semblance?" Shiro asked. In answer, Naomi fired, hitting one of the patches of light. Which exploded. 

"So you blow stuff up if you hit twice?" Shiro asked. 

"Yes," Naomi growled. She shot him a look. 

"Trying to figure out a plan," Shiro muttered. He narrowed his eyes as the Chimaera turned to them. Willow jumped over to them, shield raised. 

"Willow," Shiro said in a commanding tone. She turned to him, and he said, "See that shoulder that's been injured? Go for it." Willow nodded, lunging around the Chimaera and stabbing at its shoulder. She moved in circles around it, evading its attacks. 

"Olivia, I need you to be ready to emergency evacuate someone if they need it," Shiro said. Olivia nodded, taking a step back and catching her breath. "And Naomi, keep doing that, but try not to shoot the two of us."

Naomi nodded, turning off the gun's automatic setting. Instead, she took careful aim and fired every few seconds as Shiro lunged, attacking the Chimaera from its other shoulder. It turned to face him, but spun around again as Willow sheared off a piece of shoulder armor. The white plating hit the ground and disappeared in a burst of smoke. She blocked the Chimaera's claws as it slashed at her, sparks flying off her shield. Olivia rushed in, pulling her back out of the way to safety. Shiro lunged forward, attempting to attack the Chimaera's back legs, but it kicked back, a large hoof colliding with his stomach and knocking the wind from him. He grabbed onto the leg, then stabbed his sword into the exposed flesh. Firing off several rounds of gravity Dust, he propelled his sword through the leg, sawing it off. The leg disappeared as the Chimaera lunged at him. He jumped backwards as its tail lashed at him. The Chimaera reared over him, wings spread, roaring. 

Naomi fired. A spray of bullets hit the Chimaera's neck, causing several white explosions to go off. The Chimaera fell over, onto its side, shaking its head. Shiro stepped in, swinging his sword and slicing the Grimm's head off. Blood sprayed the ground, then began steaming and evaporating as the corpse disintegrated. 

"Whoo-hoo!" Willow cried, dismissing her sword, and pumping her fists into the air. Olivia collapsed onto the ground, exhausted from the repeated use of her Semblance. 

Shiro rubbed his side, wincing. Having sheathed her weapons, Naomi came over, hands clasped behind her head and a big grin on her face. 

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but whatever," Shiro muttered. 

"I considered dropping some of the roof on it, but decided that wouldn't be helpful," Naomi said. 

Imagining a half-ton of rubble falling on his head, Shiro agreed, "Yeah. It wouldn't have been."

"Shiro Branwen, Naomi Fiona, Olivia Iris, Willow Arc." Ozpin read the names off of his scroll, then looked at each of the students in turn. "The four of you retrieved the white queen pieces. You are now team SNOW, with the leader being...Shiro." Ozpin smiled at him. "Congratulations, Shiro."

Applause and congratulations filled the room as SNOW took their places at the sides of the room. "Congrats," Naomi said. "Team leader, eh?"

Shiro shrugged. "I didn't really do that much leading."

"Uh, if it weren't for you, I'd have been hunting down every single Beowulf in the Emerald Forest," Willow pointed out. "You kept us going the right direction, buddy."

Shiro shrugged. "Ah, well. We'll see how things turn out."


	14. Olivia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those reading April 2020, sorry it took so long for the wait. There were a few issues with me writing this, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

Olivia sat up, stretching. She was admittedly rather sore from the Initiation, but felt okay nonetheless. Content, she slid out of bed, trying not to wake Naomi, on the bed besides hers. Which was when she realized Naomi wasn't in bed. Shiro slept in the bed on the far left of the room, and Willow on the far right, with Olivia and Naomi in the middle. But Naomi had woken up earlier, it appeared. Olivia searched the room, wishing she had the Faunus's night vision to pierce the dark room. She found Naomi over in one of the corners of the room, nose buried in a book. The girl's fox ears wiggled as she looked up and met Olivia's eyes, but then she returned her gaze to her book. Olivia crept over to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and then changed into her school uniform. 

It was weird. Quite a bit different from the Atlas uniforms she'd seen, and more comfortable, less formal. She exited the room, then sat down by Naomi, legs stretched out. Naomi looked at her for a brief second, then returned her gaze to her book. 

They sat like that for a while, neither saying anything. "Is it a good book?" Olivia whispered. 

Naomi looked up in surprise, then said, "Yeah. First book of a new series, tied into some other author's book series, but focused on a different group of characters."

"Cool. Sounds meta enough for me to enjoy." 

"I'd start with the other series before moving on to this one," Naomi chuckled, turning the page. Her scroll chimed from the floor beside her, and Olivia looked at it. Before Naomi picked it up, she saw a bunch of contacts, but the only name she read was _Gaold._

Naomi read the new message, then set her scroll back down without a word. "I have a copy of the series, you can borrow it when I unpack it," she whispered. 

Olivia grinned, then looked up as she heard a loud yawn. Willow sat up, stretching and rubbing her bleary eyes. Shiro had sat up, too, stretching to the sound of joints popping. "Ack," he muttered. 

"Ack?" Olivia repeated. 

"Not the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on, admittedly," Shiro said, rubbing his back. He yawned, then checked his scroll. "Still early, and we have some work to do," he stated. "Unpacking and decorating. We have an hour before class starts."

"It looks like we didn't have as good luck as other people we know," Willow muttered, checking her scroll. She looked up, seeing everyone else's gaze on her. "I mean, look, Shiro, you know you're cousins?"

"Yeah. What about them?"

"They ended up on a team with each other, and with two other girls they know," Willow stated. "None of us had even met each other before yesterday."

"You're right," Olivia said. "I mean, my first time meeting Naomi was in the forest yesterday."

"I'm sure we'll get to know each other as we go through a school year," Willow said hastily. "I'm just saying. Others are on teams with friends and family. We're just...a bunch of strangers."

"I guess that makes my job a bit harder," Shiro said quietly. "Damn, couldn't Ozpin have picked one of you guys for this job?"

"He probably agrees with my mom that I 'act with reckless abandon'." Willow used large air quotes for this. 

"You referred to him without his title?" Naomi asked curiously. 

Shiro blinked, then said, "Oz and Father go way back. So yeah, I've met him. Several times." He checked the alarm beside his bed. "C'mon. We've got work to do."

Unpacking was a short period of time, but not short enough. They had no time to redecorate their room before having to immediately head to class to avoid being late. They were joined by Team RWBY, who were 15 seconds short of being late day 1 of school. The jovial, and roundish, Professor Port gave them a stern look but said that as long as they weren't late, they were fine. 

After class, Olivia's first impulse was to find Weiss--Weiss had seemed rather agitated during the class, after all. But Shiro tapped her on the shoulder. "Now that we have time, we ought to finish with our room," he told her. "Decorating and all. And I was kind of hoping we could all get to know each other, too."

Olivia nodded. "Eh. You're prob'ly right."

"Alright, your turn Shiro," Willow said with a laugh. 

Shiro had devised a method to make 'getting to know each other' fun. Each one would take a turn telling the rest a random tidbit about their past or personality. Olivia had thought this was wonderful, Willow loved it, and Naomi had been very uncomfortable the entire time. 

"Alright, alright, let's see." Shiro pulled out a book from a box--titled _Heroes That Time Forgot: Myths and Legends No One Knows About._ He set it on the small bookshelf that had been put into the room. "I once went on a trip to Menagerie."

"Ooh," Willow said. "What happened?"

"...A lot of personal stuff that I'm not saying."

"Fair enough. Naomi, your turn." 

"Oh. So, um, lessee..."

"It can just be anything," Olivia said with an indifferent shrug. 

"Um...in six years I have been to all four kingdoms."

"Really?" Shiro looked at her. "Wow."

"Which was your favorite?" Olivia asked. "Totally won't disown you if you don't answer Atlas, by the way. Totally won't."

"I can't judge things," Naomi said. "They all seemed pretty nice...at least, there was none I disliked." She paused. "Menagerie did seem a little too crowded for me, though, when me and Gaold went there."

"Gaold's your brother, right?" Willow asked. She pulled out a large gaming console, setting it on a round table in the corner of the room. 

"Adopted, yeah." Naomi nodded. "Well, he isn't Mother's son, but I grew up with him teaching me." She twirled a strand of hair around one of her fingers. "Taught me everything I need to know. I...can't really remember anything from before him, and...I suppose that's for the best." 

There was a silence in the room. "Yikes," Willow muttered, setting down her box. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She stretched out, extending her legs. 

"Don't you have more to unpack?" Shiro asked. 

"I've been on a lot of missions with Gaold. On them, I learned to pack light. All my books are digital." She waggled her scroll, which began ringing. Blushing she said, "I've got to take this. You guys just carry on--I've got to go." She stood up and left, answering her scroll. 

"She's sad," Olivia stated. Willow shot her a glance, and Olivia replied, "What? She is!"

"Don't be rude," Willow said pointedly. "She left and then you start talking about her?"

Olivia winced. "Sorry. Heh heh."

"She's far away from the only family she can really remember," Shiro said. "That's...if she needs us, we need to be there for her."

There was a collective nod from the three of them. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter and a slight note. I am no longer having a single view point character for each chapter. I was just having too much problems trying to write like that. But that's one of the joys of writing--you're always getting better. I'm excitied to see how I improve over the course of this and following stories in this series.

Yang stretched, feeling glad Beacon Academy had a gym. Pent up stress from a day of classes, and unused energy left her muscles sore. She changed into gym clothes and headed down. Late in the day, sun setting in the sky, no one was in there. Machines were vacant, weights unused on their rocks. 

Which was when she noticed the gray tail pointed straight in the air. 

"Hello?" She stepped around a punching bag--which was still swinging--and looked down at Naomi. She'd changed into a sports bra and shorts, and was doing push ups on a mat, counting under her breadth. 

"Naomi?" Yang asked. She looked down at the Faunus's scroll--still on a screen saying "CALL ENDED."

"Naomi? Naomi!" 

Naomi stopped. She rolled over, landing on her back and panting. She looked up at Yang. "Didn't hear you enter. Sorry."

"I didn't know you worked out." Yang looked to her stomach. "And a lot, judging by the abs."

"Excuse me?" Naomi raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm checking out your abs."

"Miss Xiao Long," Naomi stated firmly. 

"Yeees?"

"I don't even know what to say. I shouldn't be surprised that you work out, anyway."

Yang's eyes trailed down to Naomi's stomach, where a nasty scar was positioned. Naomi's hand went down and trailed along it. "Really, Yang?"

Yang blushed. 

Naomi rolled back, then jumped to her feet, dusting herself off. "Old scar. White Fang thug."

"Um...aren't you a Faunus?"

"Excuse me?" Naomi gave Yang a pointed glare. 

"Uh..."

Naomi laughed. "Yang, I have a tail. Of course I know I'm a Faunus."

"Fair enough."

"My parents spoke out against the White Fang. A couple of extremists decided that it would be better if they weren't in the picture, and decided to erase them." She looked away. "I don't really remember it. I just remember being hurt, crying, and...Gaold. He saved my life. Killed two of them and had the third pinned down under a boot. Do you know what he said to me then?"

Yang sat down on a bench. "No."

"'When you think you're right, you argue. When you think you're wrong, you threaten. People who are right never use threats. Tell me. Does he deserve mercy?'" She grinned at Yang. "Can't think of many people who'd ask a nine-year old her opinion on something like that, can you?"

"Yikes." Yang looked at her. "That's...horrible."

"I got over it quickly. Gaold...Gaold was so kind to me."

Yang put a hand on Naomi's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Naomi was struck speechless. Yang leaned in close...and kissed her. Naomi's eyes widened in surprise, but she leaned into Yang, wrapping her arms around Yang's neck. 

"Ahem?" the most masculine voice Yang had ever heard said. The two broke apart, turning to find Professor Peter Port standing there. "Well, no rules were ever made against that, but I suggest you keep the private stuff out of public locations."

"Um..." Naomi picked up her scroll, striding past the blushing Yang. 

"Sooo..." she drawled. She turned and winked at Yang. "Send me a message some time." With that, she left. 

"Wow." Yang leaned against a wall. "What a woman."

Port chuckled. "If you say so."


	16. Chapter 16

"While this is mostly a simple mission," Glynda finished, "there are some Grimm in the forest. I caution you to be careful and stay with other students."

Shiro sniffed, looking up at the brilliant scarlet trees. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff," he grumbled. 

Blake chuckled. "A very real possibility."

"I pity you, these trees are amazing," Willow sang, using a spigot embedded in a tree to fill a jar with sap. "The trees are the icing on the Forever Fall cake."

Olivia had gone off with Ruby and Weiss--saying she wanted to catch up with her friend. Naomi had gone off with Yang somewhere-- _and that makes them officially a couple,_ Shiro thought with a satisfied grin. He turned on the spout, filling his own jar with the sap. "How's everything going on your end?" he asked without turning around. 

"Team RWBY is..." Blake paused a moment, biting her lip. "Aside from a brief argument between Ruby and Weiss, everything's gone well."

"We've spent a week or so getting to know each other," Shiro said. "Granted, none of us still know anything really about the rest, but hey. Progress is progress."

"We could have been luckier...but hey." Willow shrugged. "I got some good teammates. They're nice. Olivia's loyal, you're quick-thinking, Naomi's quiet, but very talented...I swear, she's been training for a very long time under someone very skilled. I sparred against her yesterday, and she..." Willow chuckled. "Yeah, she whooped me."

"I wonder if we'll ever get to meet this Gaold person," Blake said. 

Sealing his glass jar shut, Shiro stepped away from the tree, saying, "Who knows? Maybe he'll be in town for the Vytal Festival next year--that's when I feel we'd be most likely to meet him."

Two full jars of sap sat on the ground by two pairs of outstretched feet. Yang and Naomi leaned against a tree, work done, simply admiring the surroundings. 

"This place is beautiful," Yang commented. "All the scarlets and reds of the trees...they look nice."

"In most of my missions, I rarely have time to stop and admire the scenery," Naomi confided. "It's a pity."

"Well, the job comes first...then the R'n'R," Yang said with a shrug. "Kinda how it works."

"Yeah. Gaold agrees with you there."

"Ooh. I like your brother more now." Yang grinned. Naomi, as usual, was unfazed by Yang's humor. She just nodded. "He told me once, 'if I had my way, I'd do nothing but sit and watch the sun setting and rising all day'." Naomi grinned, but then her scroll rang. "Oh! Shoot, that's him." She gave Yang a sorry look. "Sorry. You mind if I--?"

"Answer it," Yang replied with a nod. 

Naomi put the scroll up to her ear. "Hel-lo. No, I'm with a friend." Pause. "Okay...you want to...what? Um...okay. You're on speaker now." She pushed a button. "So, Gaold, meet Yang Xiao Long. Yang, meet Gaold."

"Nice to meet you," Yang said.

"Hello!" a voice replied. "Pleasure, Miss Long." Yang heard the muffled sounds of an Airbus. "Sorry if I interrupted anything. On an Airbus right now, heading to my next mission, just wanted to chat."

"It's fine," Yang said. "Everything going well?"

"Right now? Oh, everything's going perfectly," Gaold's voice answered. Yang had been hoping for a video chat, but was unable to see a face. Just a caller screen reading, "Gaold". "How're things going on your two's end?"

"Both are teams kicked the year off with a bang," Yang said with a chuckle. 

There was a moment's silence. "Both? You aren't on her team?"

"Ah...uh, no." Naomi chuckled. "She's a friend from another team."

"And you're alone? Why would...oh!" A hearty laugh came from the scroll. "Are you two dating?"

"Well, not yet, in any case," Yang said, sheepishly running a hand through her hair. 

"Ha!" Gaold cried. "I just won a bet then. Now you owe me ten bucks, Autumn!"

"Excuse me?" Naomi snapped. 

There was a long silence on the other end. "Well, you see...she thought you would give up and end up pretending to be mute..."

"Why would she think that?"

"Because you don't really talk to people that well," Gaold explained patiently. "I told her you could do this."

"Aw." Naomi smiled. "I'm going to talk with her about this next time I see her."

"Yes, well Haven's treating her nicely enough," Gaold replied. "And you, Miss Long?"

"Please just call me Yang," Yang told him. 

"Fair enough. How's Beacon been treating you? Ozpin's still in charge, right?"

"Yeah, he is, and Beacon's nice. You a friend of Ozpin's?"

"...In loose terms, yes. Suffice it to say, we know each other."

"Okay then."

"Xiao Long, was it?" Gaold asked. "Hmm...sounds familiar."

"Don't know why that is," Yang stated. "Gaold isn't exactly super common. Besides, I feel like I'd know it if I met you before."

"True," Gaold agreed. The scroll staticked a minute, then he said, "It was nice talking to you, but I've got to go now. Farewell."

The call ended. Naomi slumped back against the tree and groaned. 

"I just embarrassed myself in front of my girlfriend _and_ my brother," she groaned. 

"Well, at least your girlfriend didn't embarrass herself in front of your brother," Yang said with a wink. 

Naomi gave her a look. "I guess that's true," she conceded. She stretched. "We probably oughta head back now, right?"

"Yeah. And, uh speaking of girlfriends..." Yang considered a moment, then, "We good for Friday night? On a date?"

"Yeah."

"Nice."

In a warehouse that was quite a bit less abandoned than was common knowledge, a man in white lit a cigar. Chewing on it thoughtfully, Roman Torchwick stepped over to a metal rack pushed over by one of his thugs. Roman held up a small piece of Dust, then turned to a map of Vale, with several notable parts encircled. 

"We..." he began. "Are going to need more men."


	17. Chapter 17

"And why am I here?" Shiro asked. 

"Whaddya mean?" Naomi asked, turning to him. 

"I mean, why do you need me to help you spy on the students coming here for the festival?" Shiro asked, putting a hand on his hip. 

"Well, you're the leader," Naomi said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'd thought you would come up with this first."

"But why are _you_ wanting to do this?" Shiro pressed. 

Naomi looked over at the ship. "If I'm entirely honest, I have a friend attending Haven that I was kinda wanting to meet. We can't really talk that often, but..." She tapped the railing. "While I was growing up with Gaold and...Mother...she was our next door neighbor. Her parents...they were dead, too, so I guess I kinda related to her." Naomi sighed, leaning against the railing. "I'm looking forward to getting to see her again, though."

"You don't sound too happy about it," Shiro said with a raised eyebrow. 

Naomi didn't answer for a long time. "Just a little stressed right now," she said quietly. "I'm good with the combat parts of Beacon, but...I've never been good with academics. History, math, and all...ugh."

"No one's good with history," Shiro pointed out. 

"Tell that to Professor Oobleck," Naomi muttered, looking away from him. Shiro couldn't suppress a chuckle at that, but he noticed that Naomi's attention was entirely focused on the docks. He stepped up beside her, and watched as someone in white rushed along the docks, away from the two people that had been on a ship. 

"Something's happening," Naomi stated. 

"Yeah."

...

Shiro looked over, and jumped. Naomi was gone. He looked around, noticing that she'd jumped over the railing and had run over to where the strange man was running from the boat. He sighed, shaking his head. He stepped away from the railing, looking over as the man, a Faunus, judging by the monkey tail, came running up. He came to a stop, putting his hands on his knees and bending over, panting. 

"Do I want to ask?" Shiro said with a raised eyebrow. 

"Not really," the Faunus panted, rising and wiping his brow. 

"Then I won't," Shiro said pointedly, stepping around him. He strode down the road, shaking his head. When he came upon Naomi, she was involved in a discussion with team RWBY--or rather, Blake and Weiss, as Ruby and Yang had stepped back, evidently wanting to do anything but participate. 

"How much do I want to ask?" Shiro asked, stepping up to his cousins. 

"You saw that Faunus?" Ruby said. 

"Yeah?"

"Long story short, Weiss and Blake got involved in a big argument about the White Fang and then Naomi arrived and took Weiss's side. It offended Blake, for some reason."

Shiro winced, rubbing his head. "Um, guys, how about you just...you know...drop it?"

"I'll drop it when she stops siding with a terrorist organization over her own teammate!" Naomi snapped, glaring at Blake. 

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," Shiro said placatingly. 

"The White Fang is misguided people lead by a misguided leader--that does not make them terrorists," Blake growled, staring down Naomi. 

Yang looked at Shiro with her, "I told you so" face that he'd seen a few too many times. 

Ruby had hoped the argument would have ended by now, but no, all the way to their dorm rooms, Naomi, Blake, and Weiss argued. Naomi and Weiss were staunchly against the White Fang, while Blake simply thought them misguided. The argument had moved over to involve prejudice against all Faunus, at which point Naomi had sided with Blake and all three of them were glaring daggers at each other. 

"Look here," Shiro interrupted finally. "It all depends on which Faunus you're talking about. Obviously, there are good Faunus--like Naomi here. Obviously, some Faunus are criminals--for example, the monkey Faunus that stowed away on that boat earlier today."

"You can't have illustrated my point better," Weiss said, jabbing a finger at Blake. "The White Fang is lead by the criminal Faunus."

"You can't just--"

Weiss spun on her heel, striding to the window. "My childhood was spent listening to reports of how different family members had gone missing. Cousins, uncles, aunts..." Her hand clasped tightly around the window sill. "All of that...made for a very...difficult...childhood."

Blake took a deep breath, then began talking only to have Weiss interrupt her. "No! I will not stand for this! You want to know why I hate the White Fang? It's because they're evil."

"Weiss..." Ruby began chidingly. 

"It's because they're selfish."

"Weiss!" Ruby said. 

"And listening to you defend them is not at all something I am okay with!" Weiss finished. 

"Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake cried. 

There was a long silence. Blake took a step back, looking at the looks of surprise and shock on her fellow students' faces. "I--" Without finishing, she ran from the room, a black blur. 

"Blake!" Ruby cried, running after her. 

"Oh, boy," Shiro muttered. Naomi stumbled out the door, running. 

"Naomi!" Yang called out, tripping as she tried running out after her. 

Naomi rushed out of Beacon, through a garden area, past tall bushes. She collapsed onto a bench, struggling with tears and memories that she only remembered half the time. Even through her struggles, tears hit the ground. She pulled out her scroll, and dialed a number entirely from memory. 

"Hey, Gaold? We...we need to talk."


	18. Flashback: Naomi

Naomi pulled the blanket over her head, trying desperately to follow her father's instructions and shut out the sound. 

The thin sheet of cloth did little to block out the screams. 

She shuddered, putting her fingers deeper into her ears. "Why..." she sobbed. "Why?"

Why? Why was this happening? Hadn't her father spoken the truth? He hadn't done anything wrong! Violence wouldn't do any more than beget more violence!

The screams stopped. Suddenly. 

"Finally! I thought that bitch would never die," a male voice snapped. 

"Let's just get the kid before the police arrive," another one replied. The door to her room shook, then broke. Ripped right off its hinges, it fell to the ground as two White Fang thugs burst in. Only one had their mask--the other one had a fresh wound trailing down his face. He grinned maliciously, pulling out his sword. Naomi stumbled off her bed, warding him back with her hands. 

He ignored this, impaling her quickly and easily. She screamed, trying vainly to shove him back. 

He was laughing so hard that he didn't notice the sickening crunch of bone or the large black shadow moving behind him. The thug was pulled backwards, his sword yanked from his grasp and thrown to the side. The thug stumbled, off balance, but recovered fast enough to throw a punch. The black and gold blur simply stepped aside of the first and the follow up punches. The new combatant slammed their knee into the goon's stomach, shattering a rib with an audible crack. The White Fang thug hit the ground, and before he could rise, a gold-colored boot planted itself on his face. 

"There are heroes, and there are monsters." The voice was quiet, strong. "When you think you're right, you argue. When you think you're wrong, you threaten. People who are right never use threats. Tell me. Does he deserve mercy?"

Naomi looked up at her savior, then the thug on the ground. She looked past them both and saw her mother's outstretched hand on the ground, in a growing pool of blood. 

She shook her head. 

Her savior closed the distance between his boot and the ground. 


	19. Chapter 19

Yang shook her head, sitting down on a bench with a sigh. She'd been searching all day, but still had not found Blake. None of them had--Ruby had split up with her new friend, Penny, while Shiro had gathered his team to look for her. Yang had split up from Weiss, needing a moment to catch her breath. 

Yang looked up, seeing a familiar tail passing by. "Naomi?" she asked. "Any luck?"

"No," Naomi said stiffly. 

"Look, I get your mad at her, but please, just hear her out. I'm sure Blake has a good explanation..." Yang trailed off. "None of the rest of us brought out our weapons. Why did you?"

"I'm hunting a terrorist," Naomi said pointedly. "I feel like I can't do that without a gun, can I?"

A spike of alarm ran through Yang. "Okay. Let's calm down a minute before going on any vengeance-murder hunts, kay? Please?"

"She said it herself," Naomi hissed. "She's White Fang."

"You don't know the details," Yang repeated. "How about you just hear her out? I'm sure there's a good explanation." 

"What possible explanation could she have?" Naomi exclaimed. She stomped closer to Yang, meeting her eyes. "You know what the White Fang did to me. You know." She wiped a tear from one of her eyes, glaring furiously. "I've forgotten so much about my parents, Yang. But that night has so many details I'll never forget. It's not like in a book--I never forgot, even for a moment that they were dead. Every morning since then, my first thought has been, 'they're dead'."

"But please," Yang said, grabbing Naomi's hand with both of her own. "Can't you just hear her out? Just give her a chance? Please? For me?"

Naomi sighed, shoulders sagging. "Fine." 

By the time night fell, the streets were empty. And Blake still had not been found. 

"Yang..." Naomi said quietly, a questioning tone in her voice. Yang turned to her girlfriend. "What?"

"Have you...ever killed someone?"

"Um...no. Not once." Yang knew it was probably a bad idea, but she said it anyway. "Why'd...you ask?"

Naomi walked past her, sitting down at a bench. Yang sat down besides her. "I...I've killed two."

"The ones who killed your parents?"

"Um...Gaold killed them. Back then, I was as pacifistic as my father." Naomi curled up into a ball. "Gaold and I were traveling one time. On one of his Huntsmen missions. We stopped at a village, and found a warehouse at the edge of town. White Fang base--a minor one, primarily for storing weapons and supplies. I wanted to shut it down, but Gaold said...that it wasn't the time. But while we were sneaking away, we were spotted. Three thugs rushed us."

"You killed them?" Yang asked, surprised. _How...how do I help her? What do I say?_

"The fight...didn't last long. Gaold didn't say anything, but once we'd gotten far enough away, he told me...'seeking vengeance is fine. But do not let the search consume you'." Her arms tightened around herself, and she slowly rocked back and forth. 

Yang wrapped an arm around Naomi's shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey. It...it's fine."

"Yang, you suck at lying."

"Well, it's the thought that counts!" Yang spluttered. "Okay. So...I'm not really a philosopher. I can't tell you if it was morally right or wrong to kill those guys. But...I can say...move on. Just like seeking vengeance, don't let any one memory consume you. Kay?"

Naomi chuckled. Wiping tears from her eyes, she leaned into Yang. 

Then something exploded. Yang looked up at a pillar of smoke off in the distance. 

"Oh, come on!" she muttered. Yang jumped to her feet, pulling Naomi up with her. "If I had to guess..." She paused as an Airbus fell from the sky, hitting the docks. She pulled out her scroll, calling her rocket locker to her. When it landed, she pulled out Ember Celica and put it on. "...we saw a shop that had been robbed earlier today. We assumed it was Roman. Looks like he--or someone else--found themselves a target." She began rushing. "C'mon!"

"Yang, _duck!"_ Yang stopped looking back Naomi in time to duck beneath a flash of gold. She stumbled, jumping back from the figure that had appeared from nowhere. 

He stood tall, with golden armor and black cloak, gauntlets, boots, and helmet. The cloak had a pattern that resembled feathers, and a helmet with a spike jetting backwards. There was a visor, but only a single, shining dot of gold sat in the visor. 

"The hell are you?" Yang burst out. 

"I am a Nameless Blade," he said. The dot looked Yang up and down, and Yang realized it was an eye--one eye, directly in the center of his forehead. He held up his sword. A large, golden longsword. 

"How did it take me that long to notice you?" Yang asked. "You're like, dressed almost entirely in bright gold."

"Most people tend to be unobservant," the Blade said with a shrug. Then he lunged. Yang ducked beneath the swing of the sword, then stepped in and threw a punch. The Blade blocked with his left hand, shoving her back and slashing around again. Yang stumbled back, off-balance, as Naomi jumped in from behind. Naomi's blade rang against the Blade's sword as he spun around. Naomi shot at his face, but he stepped around and kicked her in the side. She used the momentum to propel herself onto his back, clasping one hand around his neck. The Blade spun, gasping in surprise. "Nice one!" he cried, spinning and trying to get her off. Yang rushed at him, slugging him hard in the stomach. 

The Blade shuddered, grunting with more surprise. He grabbed Yang's hand, pulling her behind him. Then he backflipped, smashing Yang to the ground with Naomi. He rolled to his feet, hefting his sword. "Better luck next time," he said simply. He swung his sword, only to have it blocked with the loud crack of a gunshot. The Blade slid backwards, chips of concrete breaking off the road. Willow jumped over Naomi and Yang, swinging her Aura sword. The Blade jumped away, perching on top of a lamp post on one leg as Olivia arrived. 

Naomi rose, pulling Yang to her feet. 

A scroll chimed. The Blade pulled a scroll out from his cloak, then chuckled. "Ah. That'll do. You nearly had Roman, there." He pocketed the scroll. 

"What are you?" Yang demanded. 

The Blade paused, right before he leapt off the post. "Hmm. There might be someone, somewhere, who could give you an understandable answer. That person is not me. Farewell, and I wish you luck." He leapt into the air, disappearing into the night. 

"No one tell Mom I said this," Willow said slowly, hesitantly, "but what the ever-loving fuck was that?" 


	20. Unresolved Mysteries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! I loved writing this!   
> Special thanks to Rokuuchiha, cuz without you, I'd have never have thought up something like this.

By the time Yang, Naomi, Willow, and Olivia got to the docks, Roman had escaped with the White Fang. Evidently, they had been working together. 

The group sat down with the rest of teams RWBY and SNOW, all gathered around Blake. There was a moment of silence, and then, rubbing her shoulder, Naomi said, "Sooo...could we have that explanation now?" 

"The White Fang was not always a terrorist group," Blake explained. "Originally, it was peaceful, non-violent protests. But it wasn't working. Eventually, our leader stepped down so another could take the wheel--a more violent one." Blake looked down at the ground. "Protesting signs became swords, boycotts on businesses that refused to serve to Faunus became shoot outs. And the worst part was...it worked. Humans were treating us like equals, but not out of respect. Out of fear. I realized this wasn't what I wanted...so I left." 

"Damn," Shiro said when she'd finished. He leaned back on his crate. "That explains why Adam didn't like me. He was with the Fang too, huh?"

Blake nodded. "And unlike me, people fearing him happened to be exactly what he wanted."

"Sounds like a real piece of work," a monkey Faunus said, sitting down beside the group. 

Blake sighed. "This is Sun. You might recognize him from this morning."

"I have no idea who this guy is," Willow said with a shrug. "But, um, while on the topic of human/Faunus racism...we might need a bigger diagram."

Everyone looked at her. 

"We were delayed on the way here," Yang said, revealing a small bruise on her arm. She quickly explained the encounter. "I...have no idea what he was."

"I sensed an Aura," Willow said quietly. "But...it wasn't like any Aura I've ever seen before."

"So Roman's got himself some friends," Ruby muttered. She frowned, then looked up in alarm. "Hey, wait. Where's Penny?"

"Penny was here?" Olivia asked with surprise. Everyone looked at her, surprised, especially Weiss. 

"I thought I knew all of your friends," Weiss said. "I thought I _was_ all your friends."

"She's with the Atlas Military," Olivia explained. "I was raised by General Ironwood. I met her a few times, we talked a bit. But she's fine--most likely, her father just sent someone to pick her up. He's...a bit of a safety stickler."

"It looked to me like she could take care of herself," Ruby muttered. 

Roman Torchwick sighed. Cuz sometimes, things just didn't go your way, and the bastard world he lived in was perhaps the most uncooperative little shit he'd ever seen. 

"Aren't you a little behind schedule?" A voice cut through his thoughts. A woman in a red dress strode into the room, her high heels clicking on the ground. Her two lackeys followed at short distance. 

"Quite a bit behind, actually, despite my best efforts," Roman said. He turned to Cinder Fall, popping a cigarette into his mouth. "You wouldn't believe how many plans four kids with guns could fuck up."

"While that's not how I'd put it," the Blade said casually, landing lithely on a stack of crates, "that is nevertheless what happened. Things did not go so well for Roman here."

"So you did arrive first," Cinder said with a chuckle. She turned to the Blade with a smile. 

"Yes, and on the matter of Vale, there is a certain subject I'd like to discuss with you. Regarding a bet we made a bit back..."

Cinder sighed. "Of course you remembered," she said. 

Ozpin's scroll dinged. A new message. He opened the message app, reading the first thing that appeared. 

QROW: QUEEN HAS PAWNS. KNIGHT IN VALE. 

Ozpin stared at the scroll a long moment before sighing and taking a sip of his hot cocoa. 


End file.
